An Ohio excavation contractor reportedly allowed employees to work with damaged safety equipment, resulting in the death of a worker in Columbus, Ohio.
Underground Utilities Inc., of Monroeville, Ohio, faces proposed penalties of $251,517 from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration, according to a Jan. 17 news release. A 33-year-old worker died from injuries received July 26, 2022, when the worker was pinned between the spreader bars of a trench box and the wall of a 7-foot-deep excavation. A sling hook came loose as the box was suspended in the trench.
“A worker’s life was cut short because this employer used faulty equipment,” Larry Johnson, OSHA area director in Columbus, said in the release.
OSHA found also crews replacing municipal sewer and water lines were exposed to trenching hazards July 26, 2022, at a Sandusky, Ohio, worksite and July 21, 2022, at Avon Lake, Ohio, the release reported.
“These three investigations at different sites in the same week show Underground Utilities’ lack of concern for employee well-being by failing to follow federal safety regulations and industry-recognized best practices,” Johnson said in the release.
The company has reportedly been cited six times since 2017 for ignoring federal trench-safety rules, the release said.
Tragedy will eventually strike when contractors continue to ignore safety requirements, Todd Jensen, OSHA area director in Toledo, Ohio, said in the release.
“Workers must be told before entering a trench that it must have adequate cave-in protection, a safe way to get in and out and no potential hazards that can collapse on them,” Jensen said in the release.
